Why, V belts are just as much if not more trouble in dusty enviroments.

Atleast with a serpantine belt you only need to carry 2 belts not 3 and are damn easy to change with only needing a 15mm spanner or socket.

V belts wear alternator pulleys and groove out, are noisy when wet or very dry, are much more prone to slipping if they get opil on them and have a habit of completely destroying them selves if they break.

The serp belt gives you plenty of warning and you can inspect it easilly.

In saying all that, there are plus's to having V belts but not that many negatives with the serp belt.

Sorry mcrover I disagree I am fitter and turner by trade and v-belts are the most widely used form of power transmission.

I work at a brick factory and all we use are v-belt we tried cogged tooth belt poly chain and serpentine belts only to go back to the trusty old v-belt as they give the longest life out of all the belts availlable and when a v-belt is squeeling it usually indicates missalignment and a worn out pulley and if it is making noise another few turns on the torque arm and it quiet again.

I understand that the 7pk belt is a multigroove belt but as I know suspect that as the pulleys wear on our cars the belt does not make full contact with the v sections on the pulleys causing me my head ache just going from personal work experience.

thanks Ralph.

If the belt went quite when you sprayed so Easy Tyre cleaner but squealed again next day try spraying a couple more times as at first time mine lasted about a day then sprayed again then went longer ever since has gone for app 4 months now with no noise. Usually after 4wd in Mud or wet conditions it starts squealing clean car and belt then spraybelt.
Sorry to hear of your frustration but that is how i felt as it sounded horible in undercover car parks at shopping centres.

Had that problem with mine, real bad, used a little straight edge against idler tensioner pulley and found it to be out of line. Made up a shim to fit behind tensioner mount, moved it around to get things aligned. Noise gone, no new belt, spray etc. that was 25000k ago. Misalignment caused by wear in bush, next time it does it Ill fit new tensioner complete.
Ray

I have had similar problems with mine. If you have a close look at the belt you will notice that the ridges on one edge may be closer to the edge of the actual belt surface. In other words, the belt is cut from a wide section into narrower belts. This is rarely done perfectly evenly. You may therefore find that the belt is noisier one way round than the other, and that the edge of the belt is intermittantly contacting the lip of one of the pulleys. You can try rubbing the uneven sections with some sand paper or similar....may help!

Hi to all in Aus,
The noisy belt problem is very common in England (maybe the damp weather)
Our tried and trusted solution is to loosen the tensioner from the engine slightly and place a small coin in the 9 '0' clock position and re tighten the tensioner and jobs a good un. no more nasty noises.
Regards
Geoff

Cresta can you elaborate a little more as have never heard of this.

thanks Ralph.

Try these threads from Difflock

Difflock :: View topic - Another 300TDi belt squeal thread

Difflock :: View topic - 300Tdi Squeak

__________________

1973 Series III LWB 1983 - 2006
1998 300 Tdi Defender Trayback 2006 -
- often fitted with a Trayon slide-on camper.

Hi ralph,
It would seem that the tensioner pulley somehow gets out of line with the serpentine belt. So by placing a small coin ( 1 pence in England ) in the 9 '0' clock position provides just enough correction to pull it all back in line.
With regard to any worries about excess strain on the tensioner bolt, don't worry, i have never heard of a failure relating to the above fix. providing you torque it to the correct value.
As an aside i would guess maybe 75% of British Discovery owners have used this fix. My own 300tdi has covered a grand total of around 400,000k's and purrs like a kitten and it never squeals !
Hope this is of help to you.
Thanks
Geoff

Maybe you should consider retrofitting the V pulleys off a 200Tdi then if your that much more comfy with V pulleys.

All of the rotary mowers (large industrial golf course and grounds maintenance equipment) that ive worked on over the years other than 1 brand have been run off V pulleys and the ones where they are a huge long belt with a spring tensioner, you have exactly the same problem with noise as your having now so that says to me that it is probably jsut as much a spring tensioner problem than a belt type/design problem.

The reason that most power transmission applications go V belts is that they are cheap.....no other real reason than that as they are not more reliable, nor do they take more power than other types.

There are applications more suited to V pulleys (dusty dry) where because of the design they are easier to keep clean and that is probably why in your application in the brick works, V pulleys rule.

Ive got heaps of tech info on belts and power trans in the Manual from BSC, you can get a copy here:

BSC Motion Technology formerly Bearing Service Centre Pty Ltd distributor of Ball Bearings Roller Bearings Power Transmission Oil Seals Sealants Adhesives Lubricants V Belts Pulleys Chains Sprockets Shaft Couplings Electric Motors Automotive Agricult